cloudy water

[rjw]

Have owned Tiger River Bengal for a year now.  Have not had any problems, just that the water gets cloudy after about a month of use. We use dichlor as a sanitizer, and also use an ozinator.  I change/rotate two filters monthly.  We change the water after about three months, depending on the use.  We have gotten our daily regimen down as far as amount of chlorine dosage (1.5 tsp. after each use,or every other day when we haven't used the tub), and we shock (super chlorinate) weekly as well as add the antiscaling.  We did use MPS as a shock in the beginning every other time, but talked to a local spa dealer who suggested not to....just shock with a "super" dose of chlorine once a week.  I have read some threads about clarifiers working but leaving a "scum" around the top of the tub.  Any suggestions would be helpful.  

On a different note.  My wife is interested in using the aroma/fragrance products that are out there.  I personnally think that they will make the job of maintaining the tub more difficult.  What do you think?  Any experiences/preferences to brand?


Thanks

rjw    

[Spiderman]

1.5 tsp after each use sounds low for the Bengal.  Are you sure you're getting your dichlor up to at least 5 PPM after each use?  Cloudy water usually means not enough sanitizer.  How much are you using to shock each week?  What are PH and ALK readings?  

[rjw]

Thanks for replying Spiderman.

According to the owners manual, 2/3 of a teaspoon is what the manufacturer suggests per use and 2 teaspoons per week as a shock.  we shock with 2 tablespoons!  We tested today after throwing in a dose and  the chlorine level was between 3 and 5 and the alkalinity and ph where in acceptable levels (120 and 7.2).  I just checked and the water is still cloudy.  You can see the bottom and all the jets and suction fitting and the return.  Just not as clearly as you would with brand new water.  

[Brookenstein]

Have you read the Vermonator method on doc's board?  It is what most of us go by here.

My water usually takes care of itself, with just needing the tsp per person after used and weekly shock until the water goes bad at about 3 months.  At this time my water goes from perfectly crystal clear to me having to shock more often or use a bit more chlorine than normal suddenly.  This just happened this week.  I used a clarifier for the first time yesterday.  Normally I would just dump and restart, but we are going on vacation soon and I want to wait and do the change out when I get back if I can.  Between shocking and the clarifier, my water looks much better.  Its not 100% clear, but 97% isn't bad....

[Vinny]

I agree with reading Vermonter's method.

Are you sure you're using dichlor (not Cal Hypo)? And what is your calcium reading? 120 Alk with high calcium may be the cause of the cloudiness.

As far as clarifiers, Sea Klear makes a good clarifier and with minimal use there shouldn't be too much gunk. Also, after clearing the tub make sure you clean the filters.

Was that 3 to 5 reading of chlorine 20 minutes after adding? Depending on the combined chlorine reading 2 tablespoons may not be enough although it probably is. Does the cloudiness clear at all when shocking?

From what I've read - some fragrance can screw up the water. Maybe try aromatherapy candles.

[rjw]

Thanks for the responses.  I have seen the vermonter method and tried implementing the method about six months ago(this is how we got to our present levels).  I think that I am putting enough chlorine in (definitely not Cal-Hypo).  I have not checked calcium levels, haven't seen test strips to test for this.  My reading on the sanitizer is around three several hours after a single dose and mps shock(my wife insisted!).  I  like the idea of adding more as the water gets older.  Perhaps I'll try this.  I do clean the filter once a month and also rotate two filters( the bengal has one large filter).

I may look into the clarifier.  Have read some good reviews for the Sea-Klear brand.

Will try to talk my wife out of using the fragranced oil.  To me, we are all combatting the buildup of natural oils from our bodies-why add more?  

[Brookenstein]

The Sea Klear is what I tried yesterday.  It worked well... I don't plan to use it regularly, but if it buys me a couple weeks thats good enough for me.

I've tried the fragrances when I had a bad cold.  I did the eucalyptus.  It was ok... wasn't all that impressed.  Got a tiny bit of foaming, but that went away by the next time we soaked.  Didn't have any long term effects on the water.  I'd let her try a sample pack and see what she thinks, I would be surprised if she wanted to buy more afterwards.

Oh and the test strips I bought from doc test for hardness...

[Stemay]

Can't help you with the chemicals....I'll leave that to the people who know about those things, but good luck with it all.

As for fragrance, we have tried Spazazz fragrance.  It comes in crystal form.  We put in a scant capful and the scent is nice, but not overpowering.  It lasts the 20-30 minutes that we are in the tub.  Not sure how long after it lasts, but that's enough for us so I'm not concerned.  I was also worried about cloudiness, but we've had no problem with that at all.  No foaming either.  We only use about once a week or so for something special.  

All that being said, I think if the water is cloudy, I'd be waiting til that's cleared up before using fragrance.

[anne]

As far as fragrances, I tried InSparation liquid, and it caused my water to cloud up right away, and then even though the water cleared, each time it became agitated by jets, it would cloud again. This happeded abut 10 days before I planned to change the water anyway, but it lasted till the water change, so I wont be using that again.  There was some little sample that came with my start up kit that I tried too, and it did nothing perceptible to the water quality, but smelled way to flowery to use again.

I have also been very happy with Sea Clear. I dont use it regularly, but if I have stubborn cloudiness dispite chlorine and MPS, in it goes. These last few months it seems that I keep being away for anywhere from 3 days to 16 days, and that added to my water clouding problems occasionally.  

[svspa]

rjw,

The couple of times I had cloudy water (out of town a little too long) this is what I did to clear it up.

Shock with both dichlor and MPS, MPS works well for this because it is a strong oxidizer. After a day it looked better so I gave it a dose of clarifier and ran the jets while scooping out the foam created by the clarifier. Scooping it out is much more efficient than trying to have the filters capture it all and you don't end up with that bath tub ring.

Clean your filters after you think you have most of the clarifier either scooped or filtered out of the water.

The single dichlor shock probably leaves your FC level pretty high but if your FC goes down real fast you can also add more dichlor. There's no reason why you can't give it a second dose of MPS too.

The combination dichlor and MPS should be enough to kill any bacteria and oxidize the contaminants in the tub. Then it's a matter of using some clarifier to clump all those particles together so you can scoop them out or let the filter trap them.

You might end up with much higher TDS after adding all of that MPS and clarifier so you might not get as much time out of the water. If you are close to a water change it might be easier to just change the water.

Steve

[rjw]

Hello all

Just wanted to thank you all for your replies.  We have cleared up our cloudy water by, 1)  Changing out the filter
     2)  Shocking with both mps and dichlor
     3)  Upping our normal dose from 1.5 to 2.5 teaspoons

I didn't have to use clarifier.  I think I have talked my wife out of the scented additives.  

We are back in business.  Thanks again

rjw